What happened
Security forces killed four terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Thursday, Dawn reported, in the latest of a series of operations against militants in the province.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the operations were carried out in Dera Ismail Khan district and Mohmand district on the night between 3 and 4 June 2026. It described the dead as belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij, the term the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and said they were “Indian-sponsored”.
“On reported presence of khwarij, an intelligence-based operation was conducted by security forces in Dera Ismail Khan district. During conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged khwarij location and after intense exchange of fire, two khwarij, belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Khwarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR said.
It said a second operation was conducted in Mohmand district, where “in ensuing skillful engagement, two more khwarij were effectively neutralised”.
According to the statement, weapons and ammunition were recovered from the dead militants, Business Recorder reported, who it said had been actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area.
Reaction
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded the security forces for carrying out the operations, according to the reports.
The prime minister described the operation as commendable and reiterated that operations by security forces and law-enforcement agencies would continue until the menace of terrorism was completely eradicated. He vowed to foil every conspiracy against Pakistan’s peace, stability and security, saying there was no place in the country for terrorist elements and their facilitators.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also praised the security forces, paying tribute to them for what he described as foiling the designs of the terrorists.
Why it matters
The operations underline the continued tempo of Pakistan’s counter-militancy campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the ISPR said the campaign under the vision “Azm-e-Istehkam”, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue “at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism”. In May, the military said it had killed 23 militants across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 48 hours, and on 2 June it reported 17 militants killed in Balochistan after the Quetta train bombing.
Sanitisation operations were being conducted in both areas to eliminate any other militant found there, the ISPR added. The security effort follows other recent operations in the province, including one in Tank district that KhabarWire reported here.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has remained the main focus of the country’s counter-terrorism efforts. The province recorded more than 500 attacks in 2025, and districts including Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Hangu and Peshawar were among the most affected, according to a security assessment cited by The Express Tribune.
